TESTER INFORMATION

I
started backpacking in Wisconsin as a youth, being involved in the Boy
Scouts programs. As a young adult, I worked at a summer camp leading
backpacking, canoeing and mountain biking trips. I now generally take
short weekend or day trips in rough, mountainous terrain, although I
have extensive experience in the upper Midwest as well. I take one or
two longer trips each year, where I typically carry about 40 lb (18
kg). I prefer to be prepared and comfortable, but I have taken
lightweight trips as well.

Product Description

The Big Agnes Jack Rabbit SL2 Tent is a 3-season 2-person tent that is
part of Big Agnes' "Superlight" series. The tent is a
freestanding tent, meaning it does not need to be staked down in order
to remain standing. The Jack Rabbit uses 2 sets of aluminum poles
in order to achieve its shape. The first set of poles is a
small one made of two segments that lies across the width of the tent,
near the highest point. The other set of poles has a central
spine which has two arms that extend from each end; sort of like this:
>-<. This set of poles has two plastic hubs that hold the
four branching arm segments in place. The poles are manufactured
by DAC and are made of TH72M
aluminum.

Snowed on while "trying it out"

The
tent body is made of lightweight nylon and polyester mesh. The
floor of the tent and the rain fly are treated with silicone, use
ripstop nylon and have a 1200mm waterproof polyurethane coating.
The nylon extends up about halfway up the tent with the mesh
making up the remaining material. There are 9 black plastic clips
attached to the tent body by nylon loops that hold the tent to the
poles. The poles also attach to the tent in grommets at the four
corners of the tents. The grommets are placed in a sturdy nylon
loop and also have a plastic buckle attached to the nylon loop.
These buckles connect to the rain fly. The smaller
"crossover" pole lies crosswise over the center of the tent and helps
to create more room in the tent itself. The crossover pole is
held in place with clear plastic placeholders. Big Agnes also
includes a pole splint for emergency repairs in the field.

The
tent has two doors, one on either side, so each occupant can have their
own entrance. The zippers have simple cord pulls and the door is
shaped like a capital D. Inside the tent, there are two
triangular mesh pockets just above the nylon at the "head" of the tent.
There are several nylon loops inside the tent that can be used to
attach a gear loft, headlamp or other accessories.

The
rain fly is a light beige color with orange trim. The plastic
buckles that attach to the tent have a reflective tape on the nylon
webbing that I can use to pull the fabric taught. There are
zippered vestibules on both sides that are generously sized with 9 sq
ft (0.8 sq m) of usable floor space. The vestibules are staked out when deployed.
The rain fly also has 3 guy lines; 2 toward the front and 1 in
the rear. One other note is that there is a vent built into the
rain fly that is held open with a stay wrapped in nylon webbing and
secured in place with hook and loop tabs. The image to the left
shows the vent deployed and yes that is snow... The vestibule is closed
on the right while the vestibule is open on the left.

I
would like to acknowledge that Big Agnes graciously provided both a
footprint and a gear loft as accessories. The footprint is the
same material and color as the tent floor (olive). Like the tent,
it has grommets that are color coded to the front and back of the tent
for easy set up. The footprint also has plastic buckles that
attach to the rain fly. This is important to note because the
footprint is part of the "fast fly setup" that eliminates the tent body
(and its bug protection) should I choose to save weight. The rain
fly has nylon webbing baskets sewn into it to hold the crossover pole
for this configuration. If the conditions are favorable for this
set up, I will use this feature and report on it. I would just
like to say thank you to Big Agnes for providing these accessories!

Initial Impressions

Tent components: fly, tent body, poles and stakes

The
Jack Rabbit is a very well-constructed tent in my opinion. Upon a
close examination, I found that all the seams are expertly sewn and
come taped for extra waterproofing and durability. The material
used is both light and sturdy and I have no concerns about its quality.
The Jack Rabbit comes with aluminum stakes as well which seem
sturdy as well.

Reading the Instructions

The Jack Rabbit comes with
instructions that are sewn into the storage sack that is provided.
I found the instructions easy to follow, but the set up was
simple enough and intuitive. There are care instructions included
which are helpful for ensuring the tent lasts a long time. There
are also care instructions sewn into the tent interior for good
measure.

Field Report

Field Conditions

Over
the past two months (and including the remarks in the Initial Report),
I have been on three backpacking trips as well as two car camping trips
where I used this tent as well. My first backpacking trip in
Colorado was a 2 night backpack into the
Sangre de Cristo Mountains to Lake Como, which serves as a
base camp area for several 14,000+ ft (4,270 m) peaks. The hike
in was
4 mi (6.4 km) with an additional 6 mi (9.7 km) of hiking in the basin
to Blanca Peak and Ellingwood Point. We camped along the shore of
Lake Como at 11,740 ft (3,578 m) in a grassy area. The terrain
ran from crushed gravel to subalpine forests to tundra and a lot of
talus slopes. We did encounter a bit of class III scrambling
(intentionally) as well. We had relatively great weather, but the
second night was cut short by graupel (snow pellets) and subfreezing
temperatures.
I did not have the opportunity to test the rain cover under these
conditions since I had the pack in the vestibule
of my tent. Rather than risk a dicey summit hike on day three, we considered
ourselves fortunate and left early.

My second backpacking trip was a solo hike to Blue Lakes near Ouray, CO.
This 9 mi (14.5 km) out-and-back hike to high alpine lakes at 11,720 ft
(3,570 m) sports excellent views of Mt Sneffels. The terrain was
over a good trail through subalpine forests with temperatures between 40 and 75
F (4 and 24 C). The weather was overcast at times, but the rain
missed me.

My final overnight backpacking trip
was to the Gunnison National Forest near Crested Butte, Colorado for an
overnight with my family. Because of our young son, the hike was short
at 1 mi (1.6 km) with little elevation gain. We camped at approximately
9,000 ft (2,700 m) along a creek in typical mountain terrain; rocky and
in the shade of pine trees! Skies were mostly blue with some
afternoon rain and temperatures from 50 - 75 F (10 - 24 C).

Both
of my car camping trips were in the San Isabel National Forest in
Colorado. I slept at elevations of approximately 9,500 ft (2,900 m) on both occasions and in established camping areas. On
one of these, I slept with the fast fly set up, which was interesting
since it was a really windy night. Temperatures were from 50 - 85
F (10 - 29 C) and neither trip had overnight rain.

Observations

Setting up the Jack Rabbit near a high mountain lake!

So far I am really enjoying this tent. I
have slept in snow, clear skies as well as some rain. I have had
no problems staying dry in any case! The night I spent in the
snow was cold, but I don't feel as though it was a major issue. I
used a sleeping bag rated to 15 F (-9 C) and the tent did a great job
of keeping the warm air in. I have had no problems with
condensation so far, although some ice crystals formed on the coolest
of nights. I do like to dry my tent out in the morning sun before
I pack it up for the day and the fabric dries pretty fast.

Setting
up the tent in the field is quite easy as well. The layout of the
pole design makes it easy to figure out which end goes where, but the
color coded grommets make sure I don't screw thing up. All in
all, it is easy. With some other tents, the clips that attach the
tent body to the poles are difficult to get into place, but not so with
this tent.

The
mesh upper is a great treat under the Colorado skies. It is rare
to have overnight rain in the high alpine environments I have been
camping in, so I have kept the fly partially pulled back for star
gazing. What I appreciate is that the guy lines for staking out
the fly allow me to pull back the rain fly this way. Oddly enough
I did not get a picture of this during this report phase, but I will be
sure to do so when I go camping in another week.

I
mentioned that I slept with the "fast fly" set up once over this
period. I have to say, despite it being windy, the configuration
worked great! I was amazed at how well the fly alone blocked most
of the wind. Despite this, there was some dust that snuck in.
Since there were no bugs, I didn't need the protection either,
although some creepy crawlies most likely scampered over me while I
slept! I would have thought that the lack of the tent body would
negatively affect the sturdiness of the tent, but it did great.

So
far the tent is in great shape. There are no signs of wear and the
poles aren't bent in any odd areas. Thanks to the footprint, I
haven't had any abrasions on the tent floor to worry about either.
After all, they are called the "Rocky Mountains" for a reason!

Long Term Report

Field Conditions

Near the summit of Chief Mountain

Over the final two months, I have been on an additional two
overnight backpacking trips with the Jack Rabbit for a total of 6 nights use in
the backcountry.My first trip was an
overnight in the San Isabel National Forest to Lake Ann in Colorado.I hiked 3 mi (5 km) to the lake and camped
out at 11,800 ft (3,600 m).I experienced
brief afternoon and some early evening rain showers, but had a star-filled night with lows at
about 50 F (10 C). The terrain was a mix
of subalpine forest, meadows and some tundra.I brought one of my dogs on this trip as a sleeping companion as well.

My final trip was to Chief Mountain near
Idaho Springs, CO.For this trip I hiked
to the top of the mountain and set up camp near two rock outcroppings (pictured
to the right) at about 11,650 ft (3,550 m).My camping spot was exposed, rocky and at times really windy.However, the views were incredible with
glimpses of Denver available.The
weather was incredible, with an overnight low of 45 F (7 C) and no
precipitation.My round trip length of
hiking was 5 mi (8 km) along a rocky path, although part of it was an old
railroad grade, I believe.

Observations

Generally
speaking, I am quite pleased with the Big Agnes Jack Rabbit tent.
For my trip to Chief Mountain, I set up the tent in fast fly mode
just to see how comfortable I could be in some cooler weather. I
am happy to report that I survived the night just fine, despite some
gusty winds overnight. I was actually a little nervous about
losing my set up to the wind because the soil is not always great at
holding stakes. The soil is actually mostly crushed rocks, with
some grit for good measure, but the tent held up well. One stake
was bent, but I was able to bend it back into shape and anchor the tent
well. While the picture doesn't show it, I did set up the guy lines before I settled in for the night.

On
my first trip, I did take my dog along with me as a companion. He
generally sleeps pretty cold, but with warmer temperatures, I felt good
about taking him along. I knew from my earlier trips that the
Jack Rabbit is fine for two adult humans, but would a canine, in
particular one that "tosses and turns" prove to be too much? Well
not this time. There is a picture below showing him resting
during one of the sunnier periods before the afternoon rain fell.
There was plenty of room for his dog bed as well as my bag and
pad. On the topic of roominess, this tent is has great headroom
in my opinion.

I
had no problems with any leaks during my test. Even with the vent
on the rain fly open, the rain stayed out and I stayed dry. I did
have one concern over the past two months. I found that the
zippers on the fly catch on the rain flap with some frequency. In
particular, there is a spot on the rain flap where there is a hook and
loop tab that helps hold it in place, and that is a problem spot when I
am opening the fly, more notably from the outside.

The
tent is holding up great. There are no tears that I could find,
and judging by how dry I stayed in the rain the fabric is indeed
intact. The poles are straight still and all the zippers move
freely as if I just pulled the tent out of the package.

Settling Down with my dog, Flash.

Summary

The Jack Rabbit is a keeper, that's
for sure! Big Agnes has hit the ball out of the park on this one,
for sure. This tent is sure to be my go-to three season tent from
now on. Here is a recap of the highs and lows:

Pros:
Looks great, is light weight, easy to set up and has lots of window
space for stargazing. Good ventilation and the fast fly set up is
easy.

Cons: Included stakes are not especially strong, zipper on fly catches on the rain flap sometimes.

This concludes my report. I would like to thank Big Agnes for their generosity as well as the folks at BackpackGearTest.org
for allowing me to be a part of this series.

Product tested and reviewed in each Formal Test Report has been provided free of charge by the manufacturer to BackpackGearTest.org. Upon completion of the Test Series the writer is permitted to keep the product. Owner Reviews are based on product owned by the reviewer personally unless otherwise noted.